The Train
by beingbored
Summary: A haunted train may be the setting for Hisoka's demise. For ghosts that latch on don't easily let go.
1. Chapter 1

**So here is the new story I wanted to publish yesterday but for some reason I didn't get around to editing. I have the entire thing written so it is just a mater of convincing myself to edit. Editing is always the most heinous part. But anyways, onto the story.**

Tsuzuki was lying back in the squishy office chair he had smuggled into the office. This one could be reclined without any fear of falling over. His feet were up on the desk, his head supported by his hands, his eyes closed. Ah, there was nothing in life that was as good as ignoring paperwork. It was made only better by the fact that Tsuzuki was also having an amazing dream.

He was probably drooling. But who wouldn't when Cinnabons and apple pie were present. It was a lovely dream. The apple pie was big enough for him to swim in. And it had Cinnabons decorating the top crust. And the Cinnabons had whipped cream. And there was vanilla bean ice cream on the side with caramel drizzle! Tsuzuki was going to have to enlist the help of Watari to figure out how to make food this big. The Cinnabons were the size of his head!

Tsuzuki dreamt of himself diving into the apple pie. It was warm enough to make the ice cream melt and warm Tsuzuki up like he had dived into a fresh pile of laundry. He began eating his way through the pie, moaning as he took a combined bite of pie, Cinnabon, and whipped cream.

But then, Tsuzuki felt the apple pie turning upside down, himself falling with it. It wasn't long before Tsuzuki fell out of the pie and onto the ground. He yelped in pain, opening his eyes and squinting. His head was wringing now and Tsuzuki was sure he knew who the culprit was.

"Hi-so-kaaaaa!" he whined. Hisoka knew that after lunch was Tsuzuki's dreaming time. It was a time when he could swim through apple pie and eat enough deserts to fill him for a lifetime (not an easy feat).

"Actually, it's me. Hisoka is already in the briefing room," Tastumi said.

Tsuzuki peeked up at the secretary and smiled. "Did you bring me cake?" This lunch break could turn around yet!

Tatsumi shook his head. "You have a case. Come on. If I have to ask you again I'll dock your paycheck." Tatsumi sure knew how to threaten a guy. Tsuzuki was on his feet very quickly. They say the fastest land mammal is a cheetah. It's not. It's Tsuzuki when he's afraid of not being able to eat desert.

"You can't dock it!" Tsuzuki wailed, racing out the door after Tsuzuki. "I barely have enough for desert! I can only get it every other meal! And only one piece!" Fat crocodile tears began to leak down his face. Tatsumi knew how to threaten Tsuzuki. But Tsuzuki knew how to play Tatsumi.

"Maybe if you actually budgeted, you would have enough for desert."

Tsuzuki turned around at the sound at Hisoka's voice and smiled. Hisoka was also easy to convince when it came to desert.

"Tsuzuki, I can hear your thoughts. I'm not getting desert for the next two months. In fact, I'll only be eating foods with green peppers in it." Hisoka brushed by Tsuzuki, his nose turned up.

"No! I hate green peppers. You can't do something so mean, Hisoka!" Tsuzuki cried once more. Though he took this opportunity to relieve Hisoka of some of the folders he was carrying. Why didn't anyone else help with this? The height of the folders was towering over Hisoka's head. Tsuzuki was surprised he hadn't toppled over already.

"Well that's because this case dates back to the 1950s. Of course there's going to be a lot of folders," Hisoka sighed, brushing past Tsuzuki once more and walked into the conference room.

Tsuzuki found his seat and started flipping through the case files. They were all pretty gruesome. All of the victims had committed suicide. Tsuzuki fingered his watch. It was times like these that made the scars burn, reminding Tsuzuki of the sin he had committed. Hisoka slid over a cookie Wakaba had baked earlier. He didn't even turn towards Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki smiled and began munching on the cookie. He wasn't sure how much Hisoka knew about his past. But he wouldn't be surprised to know Hisoka knew more than he let on. He was polite enough to let Tsuzuki tell him in his own time. Not that Tsuzuki ever wanted to tell Hisoka. Hisoka had his own demons that needed to be dealt with before he took on Tsuzuki's.

"They all committed suicide?" Tsuzuki asked.

"After jumping from a moving train," Hisoka clarified. "But, there are no notes from any of the victims, so maybe not a suicide?"

"But if they didn't have anything to write notes on, they may not have left them." Tsuzuki didn't leave a note when he died. He had no reason. There was no one he wanted to talk to.

"You also have to take into account that none of these people were in the book as scheduled to die," Tatsumi said, handing out some more files.

"But there's no real pattern. Everyone is different: different ages, heights, builds, genders, even ethnicity. There's nothing apparent that would connect them."

Tsuzuki shook his head and closed one of the files. A mother jumped off the train with her young child into the sharp rocks below.

"There has to be something that connects them. People don't kill for no reason. There has to be something we're missing," Tsuzuki added.

"Well, the only thing we can find, other than no one being scheduled to die, is the train." Tatsumi pushed his glasses up. "The train they jumped off of is the same. Every time the train leaves the station in Tokyo and travels down to Hiroshima, there is at least one jumper."

Tsuzuki flinched at the nonchalant nature Tatsumi spoke about these deaths. He could never understand how anyone could be so cold towards human lives. He had been working here for such a long time and even he was not able to separate his emotions from the case. It was probably his downfall. But he could never be cold. He could never be ruthless.

Tsuzuki glanced over at Hisoka. The kid had his nose buried in a file. As much as Hisoka peaked into Tsuzuki's mind, he had enough respect to not do it at every instance. Tsuzuki looked down at the file. He supposed there was one person he would be ruthless with, should he meet him again. But not for his sake.

Hisoka put down the folder and huffed. "So I'm guessing you want us to board this train and figure out what's going on."

"Of course. We don't think Muraki is behind it, since some of the dates are before his time." Both Tsuzuki and Hisoka stiffened upon hearing the name. "But just to be sure, we need constant updates from you both. We can't have an incident like the Queen Camilla happening again." Tatsumi said these words as if they were nothing. But Hisoka curled in on himself. Tsuzuki allowed his emotions to calmly wrap around Hisoka. He couldn't comfort Hisoka with hugs like he wanted to. But he could do something to calm him down.

Tsuzuki knew Hisoka was still having nightmares. He knew the kid was still hurting. He knew that Hisoka was having a hard time eating, and was still angry at himself for letting Muraki get away with an even larger loss of life than the last time. But Hisoka was so afraid at letting people down and getting hurt again that he would never accept Tsuzuki's help. At least, not publicly.

Tsuzuki himself was still hurting from the incident as well. The night after he had made sure Hisoka wasn't going to jump out a window, he had gone home and gotten himself spectacularly drunk. He remembered pulling out a knife and wanting to end it all again so badly. It was really only the fact that Hisoka was still alive that kept Tsuzuki from killing himself, well, killing himself permanently.

"Tsuzuki, your shields are down," Hisoka hissed.

"Oops, sorry." Tsuzuki flashed Hisoka a smile and quickly worked on repairing his shields. He wondered how much Hisoka had felt.

"Everything." Hisoka snapped a folder shut.

"Sorry. I'm still not used to be so careful." Tsuzuki said and quickly regretted. Hisoka's body stiffened. "Not that it's your fault." Tsuzuki quickly added. "It's not like you can control it or anything." Tsuzuki laughed nervously. Hisoka could be very sensitive to anything regarding his empathy. He still, after all, believed it was a curse.

"When does the train leave?" Hisoka said abruptly.

"Tomorrow morning at five." Tatsumi handed Hisoka the tickets. Tsuzuki whined about not being able to hold them. Hisoka silenced him with a look.

Then Tsuzuki realized that Tatsumi said five in the morning. "Really? I don't want to get up that early. Can't we just teleport on the train later?" Tsuzuki whined. His question was answered when Hisoka slammed his very bony fist down on Tsuzuki's head.

"Idiot! We can't do that. What if the culprit only shows up at the beginning?" Hisoka scolded. He stood up and scooped the files into his bag.

Tsuzuki rubbed his head and pouted. Five A.M. was too early for anyone to get up, no matter what they were doing.

oOoOoOo

Another stroke. Another brush. Another color. The eyes. The eyes were always the hardest to get.

She ran her hand along the side of the train, singing low. Singing softly. Not many people saw her. Children were usually the ones to point her out to their parents, tugging on their clothes and asking why a lady was walking on the train tracks. A few adults would see her, but those were rare. She trailed a hand through her hair. She could still feel the strands; soft as the day she died. Would anyone else be able to feel it?

The train whistle blew, retreating from the station. She faded into the side of the train and smiled when she felt that presence. She smiled and let herself be taken to him. Seeing him, bright green eyes, corn silk hair, pale skin, he was beautiful. The man he was with wasn't bad either. His eyes were purple. But she already knew who was going to die. Maybe this time she would get her revenge. Maybe this time she could finish her painting.


	2. Chapter 2

Hisoka groaned as he plopped down on the bench. Of course Tatsumi had been lying when he had told Hisoka the train left at five. The ticket agent sat there and laughed at him for a solid minute before finally telling Hisoka the train to Hiroshima departed at seven. Hisoka supposed he could go back to his apartment, but what was he going to do there? He hadn't been sleeping well so it wasn't like he'd catch a few more hours. And he had already managed to choke down a piece of toast and an apple, so he didn't need breakfast.

Hisoka knew why Tatsumi had told Tsuzuki the train left at five. Chances were, the man wouldn't show up until six thirty at the earliest. He would come and cry to Hisoka about how his alarm was broken and how his watch was broken and how he needed to get breakfast but the line was too long. Hisoka would of course forgive him because Hisoka was unable to stay mad at Tsuzuki for very long. It was all rather annoying.

Though, lately, Tsuzuki had been getting worse. Hisoka made it a point not to peek at Tsuzuki's emotions, it was an invasion of privacy. But he couldn't help himself. Tsuzuki's shields were getting weaker everyday, and he didn't seem to notice. So sometimes Hisoka couldn't help but get hit with Tsuzuki's emotions, like in the conference room. But because he was getting hit with such hopeless emotions, he started peaking in more and more, trying to see what was bothering Tsuzuki.

He could never put a finger on it. But he knew enough to guess the watch Tsuzuki had was connected.

Settling down on the bench, Hisoka settled down and started to watch the people. Ever since he had been with Tsuzuki, his empathy had started to even out, and was easier to control. Before, even the tiniest of emotions would be enough to smash through Hisoka's walls. But now, only more major emotions managed to break through. Sadly, Tsuzuki's emotions were anything but tiny.

Hisoka closed his eyes, trying to feel if anything malicious stood out to him. The train wasn't here yet, and neither were the passengers. Unless they were all of course tricked by Tatsumi into arriving over two hours early. But you never knew what drove a ghost and where you would feel the residual energy. It was a frightening thing, being able to look into people's thoughts like this. But there were times Hisoka was glad he had it. In times like this, it helped with the investigation.

Slowly, the noise from the platform started to fade away. Hisoka felt his breath slowing down. The people became less substantial. Instead, they began morphing and shifting into colors and vague outlines.

Their inner thoughts and feelings. There were no genders, no words, no images. Just a vague shape of a human with a swirl of colors. That's the thing no one understood about empathy. It wasn't something Hisoka could touch or explain. To truly access the emotions, he had to let go of the material world.

He was sitting right in the middle of the human shaped. They were moving slowly. Hisoka stood up and began to walk amongst them. Even though there were no genders and no voices, he could tell who said what and who was thinking what. In front of him, a human full of worry and regret, tugging along a slightly smaller human, full of similar emotions.

Hisoka felt himself sway and his head begin to roll. The people began moving more slowly, almost to a stop. It was like they were going round and round in a circle. Entrapping him here, in his mind. He was getting too deep. Anymore and he might expose himself to something that would overtake him and hurt him. He needed to return.

Hisoka tried to pull out, he tried to detatch himself from the emotions. But he couldn't. The people descended on him. There was a loud buzzing sound in his ears, like a bee flying around his head. He felt hands gripping his arms. He saw teeth in those circles that represented heads.

Hisoka's breathing picked up. He had never seen anything so solid in this state before. His mind reached out for Tsuzuki. He wasn't sure what time it was or even where Tsuzuki was. But he kept stretching.

"He's next. He's next." One of the humans repeated. He couldn't tell which one. Their mouths were all stretched into a smile.

"So lovely. Like a picture. He jumps. Won't see the final piece. Can never see the final piece. She sings and sings but can never find peace. He won't die. Takes more than will to die. He's next."

"Hisoka!"

Hisoka bolted up from where he was lying down. Tsuzuki was gripping his arms, keeping him steady. Hisoka wasn't on the bench he had sat down on. They were in a tucked away corner. Hisoka could hear the people rushing about outside. He could hear the occasional announcement over the intercom for trains and passengers.

"What's wrong?" Tsuzuki asked, pulling Hisoka up. Hisoka pushed him away and tried to get his breathing under control.

"I just lost control of my empathy," Hisoka said. He wasn't sure how much Tsuzuki needed to know.

"How did that happen? There was no one around when I found you," Tsuzuki said, allowing Hisoka some space. Hisoka's head jerked up and he stared at Tsuzuki.

"No, there had to be. There were too many people and that's why I lost control and got sucked up," Hisoka said. Tsuzuki shook his head.

"Kid, there was no one when I got there. There wasn't even a ticket salesman. You were all alone."

Hisoka leaned back against the wall. That didn't make any sense. The people who attacked him…the people attacked him. Emotions didn't attack anyone but their owners. There would have been no way for them to attack Hisoka. Hisoka felt Tsuzuki's emotion spike with glee. It was somehow both fake and real. Tsuzuki was excited, but he was also scared and depressed. Hisoka hated it.

So he did what he thought would help, he put a hand on Tsuzuki's arms. Except it didn't help. Tsuzuki's emotions spiked again, this time worrying about Hisoka. Hisoka pulled his hand away and stood up, Tsuzuki following behind him like an eager puppy. He was trying to make Hisoka at ease. It wasn't working.

"Ah, you should see this train we're going on. It's like this whole tour. And it's an antique rail car so there's food and drinks. And it's all included. And this time, I don't have to work!" Tsuzuki said. He took ahold of Hisoka's arm and began tugging him to the platform.

"Antique?" Hisoka asked, allowing himself to be dragged behind Tsuzuki. The depression was fading away, so he was obviously doing something right.

"Yup. The car was originally built in the 1950s. I read the pamphlet last night. Because of that it takes about a day and a half to get to Hiroshima, even though you can get there in about four hours nowadays. We're going to have so much fun!" Tsuzuki chattered.

"Tsuzuki, we're here to work. Remember all the suicides?" Hisoka grumbled.

"But we can still have fun. Not everyday I get to relive the fifties. That was a fun time," Tsuzuki said.

"I bet." Hisoka was starting to feel a bit calmer now. He didn't want to admit it, but Tsuzuki holding his wrist was probably helping. He took this time to look around. It was close to six thirty, so their train was boarding. He had lost close to an hour. That was strange. It only felt like a few minutes had gone by.

Several people were rushing about, most content. Not happy, just content. Hisoka glanced at the train to see a woman standing beside the engine. She didn't look much older than Hisoka. Her hair was short and curled with a black tilt hat on her head. A string of pearls was around her neck. Her dress was a checkered, off the shoulder with a golden broach pined above her heart. Hisoka noticed there was a stool next to her, stacked with tools for traditional styles of painting.

Hisoka slowed to a stop, his hand slipping from Tsuzuki's. The woman was running her fingers along the side of the train. Even with all the noise, Hisoka could tell she was humming under her breath.

"That's her," he whispered before taking off towards the front of the train.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki called, chasing after him. Hisoka almost jumped onto the tracks, but Tsuzuki caught him around the waist and yanked him to the ground, just in time for a train to whiz by. Tsuzuki pulled Hisoka up and practically carried him to the train door where he crossed and pushed Hisoka into the car. Several people started whispering to themselves. Hisoka could feel them. Some worry, some disdain, some sympathy. They thought he was going to jump in front of the train. They thought he was going to kill himself.

"What were you thinking?" Tsuzuki hissed. He still had an arm around Hisoka's waist. Hisoka wanted to tell him to knock it off, but Tsuzuki didn't seem to be in a very good mood.

"I thought I saw the culprit of the suicides. I went to catch her. I didn't see the train," Hisoka hissed. Tsuzuki pulled him into a compartment, complete with a bed and table. He finally let Hisoka go and collapsed on the bed.

"Don't do that again. I know we're hard to kill, but the time it would have taken you to heal from that would have made us miss this train and then someone else would have died."

Hisoka felt a little guilty at those words. As much as he complained about Tsuzuki, he did really care about his job. He didn't want to let anyone down.

"Look, you've been here since five, right?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Yes," Hisoka spat out. Although he admitted in his head Tsuzuki was right, Tsuzuki didn't need to know that.

"Why don't you stay here, get some rest. I'll start snooping around."

Hisoka opened his mouth to protest. He was the one with the empathy. He was the one that was better at detecting spirits. But Tsuzuki held up a hand, effectively silencing Hisoka.

"I know you want to help. But let's face it, right now your too tired. Your empathy overwhelmed you, you're seeing things that aren't really there, and you almost jumped in front of a train."

Hisoka snapped his mouth shut. So Tsuzuki hadn't seen the woman. Something was up here.

"Tsuzuki, she was really there. I can describe her to you!" Tsuzuki pushed Hisoka down on the bed.

"Just sleep for an hour or two, just enough to get rested up. I promise if anything happens I'll come get you," Tsuzuki said. Somehow he had managed to remove Hisoka's shoes and tuck him into bed.

"You promise at the first sign of trouble you'll get me?" Hisoka said. Tsuzuki laughed and pushed Hisoka back onto the bed.

"Yes. I promise. I'm just going to have a look around." Tsuzuki stood up, flicked off the lights and left the room. Hisoka stared up at the ceiling. This bed was nice and soft. It wouldn't hurt to have a few hours of sleep.

oOoOoOo

She saw the tall man with the purple eyes catch the child. She smiled and sank back against the train. So it would be harder to kill the child than she originally thought. That was interesting. Perhaps she would get a chance to punish the man who had killed her. Perhaps she would finally get her revenge.

The train whistled. The cars jerked and pulled as they started to move. Her hand gripped the side of the train and pulled her along. She opened her mouth and started to sing. This time she would not fail. This time, she would succeed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, sorry about not writing anything for a few months. I have been very busy with work, school, and writing an original work. I'm almost done with the first draft of it and since this is my last semester as a college student I hope I'll have some more free time. Thanks to any and all who stuck around for so long. I should be back to a more consistent posting schedule.**

 _"Sakura. Sakura."_ The voice floated through Hisoka's head, the words gently caressing his face like little flower petals falling through the sky. Hisoka tilted his head back, his ears catching onto the sound. It was so calming, so smooth. It took him back to a time before his empathy, when his mother would hold him close. It also reminded him of Tsuzuki; beautiful and loving.

 _"Noyama mo sato mo. Mi-watasu kagiri."_ The girl was singing a traditional song about spring. Hisoka wanted to get up and follow that voice, see where this mysterious woman was. So he did.

He batted his eyes open to see a beautiful landscape. It was so beautiful that it couldn't be real. It looked just like a painting, something frozen in time. The sakura trees were spread as far as the eye could see, blanketing the world in quiet shades of pink and white. Hisoka should follow that voice. He should follow it to meet this strange woman.

 _"Kasumi ka kumo ka."_ It sounded close enough. Hisoka could probably find her in a matter of minutes. _"Nioi zo izuru. Izaya. Izaya!"_

"Hisoka!"

Hisoka jerked up to see Tsuzuki standing over him, very similar to how he had awoken earlier. He pushed Tsuzuki off of him. That song, that picture, he had been there. If Tsuzuki hadn't woken him, he could have found the singer.

"What do you want? Did you find anything?" Hisoka strained to hear the song once more. But with each second, the words faded away. He wanted to follow those words and see where this woman was. But the words were already being replaced with the creaking and clacking of the train car. His eyes searched the cabin, but this didn't look like a painting. This was the real world.

"Well I tried to wake you up, but you were really asleep. Are you feeling better?" Tsuzuki asked. He took out a fork and began digging into a cherry pie.

Hisoka couldn't help but role his eyes. "I take it you didn't find out anything about this train? And where did you get the pie?" If Tsuzuki put half the effort he did into finding sweets, into completing his work, he would have been promoted by now.

Tsuzuki shook his head. "I got it from the kitchen. The cook there is very nice. If you're feeling better and not seeing any pretty ladies that aren't actually there, I was thinking you could help me search again."

Hisoka turned bright red. "I wasn't seeing things! And I never said she was pretty!" he shouted. He couldn't help but turn more red as he remembered her soft curves, and her neat hair. He wasn't about to deny that she was very pretty. He had the urge to smack Tsuzuki upside the head because of the thought.

Tsuzuki threw back his head and laughed. "Hisoka, it's perfectly acceptable. Your at that age where you got girls on the brain."

Hisoka really did hit him this time.

"Ow! I was just saying that it's alright for you to fantasize."

Hisoka wacked him again. "I wasn't seeing things. I'm sure it was the ghost. Maybe you didn't see her because you were fantasizing about pie!" Hisoka stood up and walked towards the door.

"Wait, Hisoka! I want to finish my pie first!" Tsuzuki shoveled the pie in his mouth and chased after Hisoka.

Hisoka laughed upon seeing Tsuzuki's face. His cheeks were bulged out like a chipmunk and he had cherry juice running down his chin with crumbs sticking to the corners of his mouth.

"Go clean yourself off. I refuse to walk around with you looking like that."

Tsuzuki gave him a thumbs up and ducked into the bathroom. Hisoka followed him, not wanting his partner to get distracted again.

"Are you sure you're alright? You still look kind of pale," Tsuzuki's thoughts floated through Hisoka's mind. Tsuzuki had gotten better at communicating telepathically, something Hisoka wasn't sure he liked. On one hand, it allowed Tsuzuki to fuss over him without anyone else knowing. On the other hand, it allowed Tsuzuki to fuss over him without anyone knowing, and therefore no way for Hisoka to react without looking like a madman.

Hisoka pushed them away. "I'm sure. It's the middle of winter, of course I'm going to be pale. Besides, off white is my default skin color," he grumbled.

Tsuzuki stepped out of the bathroom, this time looking much more presentable. He was still smiling too broadly for a case involving suicides. "I just want to make sure. I would hate to have to carry you back to our car. Not because it inconveniences me, but because it embarrasses you," Tsuzuki said with a wink.

Hisoka's face turned red once more and he went to hit Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki ducked away from his hand and started walking down the car.

"Idiot! You keep saying things like that and I'll get another partner." Hisoka trotted after him.

Tsuzuki just laughed. "No you won't. You love me too much."

Hisoka decided not to say anything as a reply. He wasn't really sure if 'love' was a good word for his feelings. Then again, he didn't really know what love was so maybe he did love Tsuzuki. But Hisoka couldn't reach out to him, couldn't rely on him. He could already feel the burden Tsuzuki carried, the guilt, the pain, the suffering. And yet, Tsuzuki never reached out to Hisoka, despite insisting Hisoka rely on him. Well, relationships didn't work that way. And if Tsuzuki wasn't going to tell Hisoka anything, then Hisoka was just going to follow his example.

"We should go on this tour!" Tsuzuki pushed a flyer under Hisoka's nose.

Hisoka grabbed it, wanting to argue with Tsuzuki. They had to do their jobs, not go on vacation! But the words didn't come out.

" _Sakura, sakura. Noyama mo sato mo."_

It was as if the world went quiet around them, just so that Hisoka could hear those words. He stopped, listening to the song that faded just as soon as it appeared.

"It's not even spring," Hisoka said to himself.

Tsuzuki turned around. "What about spring? And aren't you the one who made an observation about winter?"

Hisoka shook his head. "I might have an idea. I'll check the case files when we get back."

Tsuzuki smiled at his partner, pounding Hisoka's head with happy emotions. "Let's go on this tour first. I really want to see the engine room."

Hisoka let Tsuzuki grab his hand and drag him away. Because in the end, Hisoka loved Tsuzuki too much to say no.

oOoOoOo

Even though Hisoka wasn't really into trains or history, he had to admit, the train was pretty cool. They ended up taking a tour, trying to see if anything stuck out.

Although Hisoka didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, he still couldn't be sure that the ghost wasn't here. After all, there had been several paranormal incidents that had happened in the short time Hisoka had been near this train. Tsuzuki, thankfully, didn't try and send him back. Hisoka could feel his doubt and worry for his partner, but Tsuzuki knew better than to send Hisoka away.

The cars had all been kept in there original 1950s décor, with only a few updates here and there. Though the train had functioned as a passenger train through the 1970s, before being refurbished, the owner thought that the 1950s was more of a romantic time period than the 1970s.

The very front part of the train had been one of the more interesting aspects. The conductor seemed happy enough, showing the various children how each of the levers worked and even let one of the children steer for a while.

Hisoka could feel Tsuzuki's eyes on him the whole time, as if he thought Hisoka was going to jump again. Hisoka shot him a glare and tried to feel out any sort of pain and suffering that may have happened. He was just about to go into his trance again when he felt a hand on his shoulder, jerking him back to reality.

Tsuzuki shook his head. "Not here. Just be patient," he whispered.

Hisoka nodded, crossing his arms and listened to the tour guide give more information and history. He wasn't a child, he could take care of himself.

Once the tour ended, Hisoka and Tsuzuki went back to their car, sitting down and taking out the case files.

"Can you hand me the earliest death?" Hisoka asked. Tsuzuki shuffled through the files and handed one to Hisoka.

"1954? So this has been going on for almost 50 years?" Hisoka said, flipping through it. He sighed as he looked at the date, August 14th, 1954. So the hunch about the first suicide happening in spring was incorrect.

"Hoping for something?" Tsuzuki asked.

"I got the feeling that something happened in the spring, I was thinking the first suicide. But that was in August so it's not correct," Hisoka said.

"Yeah, it looks like the deaths take place whenever the train leaves, whether it's spring or not. Good guess though." Tsuzuki continued to flip through his files.

Hisoka yawned, trying not to let his eyes droop. Why was he so tired? Sure he hadn't been sleeping great, but he was usually in much better control than this. He felt Tsuzuki place his hand on his forehead. Hisoka didn't even feel like pushing it off.

"Why are you so tired? Has something happened? Are you getting sick?" Tsuzuki asked.

Hisoka shook his head and pushed Tsuzuki's hand off. "I don't know. Maybe the trance I was in earlier took away my energy. Let's just keep working on the case." Hisoka tried and failed to stifle a yawn.

Tsuzuki shook his head. "Sorry, partner. You're still not in the best shape to work. Just go to sleep. All the suicides take place at night anyways so we still have a few hours. Don't worry, I'll be responsible."

"Yeah right." Hisoka snorted. But he still allowed himself to be led to the bed and tucked in. His eyes began to drift close with visions of sakura petals floating through the air with the song softly moving through his ears.

oOoOoOo

Tsuzuki waited for Hisoka to fall asleep, though it didn't take very long. He frowned and ran a hand through Hisoka's hair, double-checking to ensure there was no fever. Hisoka never fell asleep so quickly, even when absolutely exhausted. The only time he ever fell asleep so fast was when he was drunk, and Tsuzuki was sure Hisoka hadn't had any alcohol.

Tsuzuki's mind wandered back to earlier at the train station. Hisoka had been acting so strange, his empathy taking over when no one was there, and then jumping in front of a train to talk to a woman who wasn't there. Tsuzuki didn't want to admit it, but he had a feeling something wicked had attached to Hisoka and was now trying to make him follow those before.

Tsuzuki began scribbling a protection charm on a scrap of paper and stuffed it into Hisoka's pocket, just to be safe.

Sitting back, closing his eyes, he could feel something off about this train. It was the same feeling he got during a thunderstorm, when he could feel the electricity in the air. He began swaying with the train, hearing the old wheels squeak and jolt as they ran along the tracks. His hand had found Hisoka's and was gripping it gently. His hands were cold and small compared to Tsuzuki's.

Tsuzuki's eyes started to drift close, well, more closed than they already were. Slowly, the sounds from outside the train began to fade away. The laughter, the conversation, the evidence that actual, living people were on this train too, vanished. Tsuzuki and Hisoka were on a car all their own going to a completely different destination.

Tsuzuki slumped down more, his mind going blissfully blank. Surely a few seconds of rest wouldn't be too dangerous. They were safe here.

"His eyes. They're beautiful. Must have them. So beautiful. A picture. He'll be the perfect picture. Not rotten inside, surely he's not rotten inside!"  
The door slammed open, causing Tsuzuki to jolt up. He shook his head and looked around. He could have sworn he heard voices.

"Um, excuse me?" a man said.

Tsuzuki turned towards him. He was an older man, probably in his sixties or seventies. He didn't look full Japanese. His eyes were a muddy brown color, and his hair was similar in shade. He looked absolutely plain, which made him stand out even more. There were paint flecks all over his shirt and paints and a paintbrush in his hand. Was he the owner of the voice Tsuzuki had heard? No, there were more than one, and not all male.

"Can I help you with something?" Tsuzuki asked, standing up and blocking Hisoka from view. Hisoka would have protested being protected like some child had he been awake. But this was something Tsuzuki did without thought. His entire being was now devoted to finally keeping someone he loved safe.

The man shook his head. "Sorry, I must have stumbled into the wrong cabin. My name's Thomas Rose." Thomas extended his hand. Tsuzuki reluctantly shook it. Hisoka was sick and needed his rest. This man should just leave.

"So you're not Japanese then?"

"No, well, I'm half Japanese, half English. I grew up in England so I have hard time reading the characters. I'm sorry to ask, but could you tell me where this room is?" Thomas said, looking rather sheepish. Tsuzuki sighed and went to look at the man's ticket.

"That's number 126. It's three rooms down," Tsuzuki said.

Thomas smiled. "Thank you so much. I'm sorry for stumbling in here. Is the kid with you?"

Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed. Something about referring to Hisoka as a 'kid' just sounded wrong. "Yes, I'm his older brother. Shouldn't you find your room now, Mr. Rose?"

Thomas stepped back, holding his hands up, and laughed. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean any harm. It's just, his eyes were so beautiful, but not like yours. I just wondered."

Tsuzuki fought the urge to throw this man out. The way he smiled, the way his eyes were dull and lifeless. It wasn't right.

"Sorry, I'm an artist. I notice little things like that. I love painting portraits of people. But I have to make sure they have the right eyes, otherwise they don't have the range of expressions I look for."

"I think you need to go now, Mr. Rose. Hisoka really needs to rest, he's not feeling well," Tsuzuki growled.

Thomas clicked his tongue and looked out the window. "Sorry for bothering you. I'll just be going now. I hope Hisoka feels better."

Tsuzuki shuddered at the way Thomas said Hisoka's name. It didn't sound dirty, but that made it so much worse. The door clicked closed and Tsuzuki breathed a sigh of relief.

That relief didn't last long. The train shook and jolted much more than it should have. Lights flickered and people screamed. Tsuzuki rushed outside, ready to face this vengeful ghost.

 **The song is** ** _Sakura Sakura_** **which if you've ever taken a music class, you've probably played it at least once. If you research** ** _Sakura Sakura_** **song on the web, you should get the lyrics. Have a great day!**


	4. Chapter 4

" _Sakura, sakura. Noyama mo sato ma."_

Hisoka sat up, the words swirling around in the air with the sakura petals. Hisoka reached up, trying to touch one. But whenever he got close, the petals flew away from his fingertips. They looked soft though, soft and delicate.

" _Mi-watasu kagiri. Kasumi ka kumo ka."_

Hisoka swung his legs to the floor and stood up. He had to find that voice. He couldn't just leave her. She had something important to say to him. He had to find her.

He looked around. He was back in the painting. The painting of perpetual spring where the blossoms were always falling. It was beautiful, and tragic at the same time.

" _Nioi zo izuru. Izaya. Izaya."_ Hisoka stopped looking at his surroundings and decided to start walking.

Hisoka swayed towards the sound, dragging his feet. It was weird, like he was walking through molasses. He also felt sleepy, so sleepy. Maybe that's why it was so hard for him to walk. Occasionally he would trip over a root, or slip on a wet patch of grass. But he continued to march, slow and steady towards the source.

A child laughed. Hisoka turned but could see no one. He shivered and wrapped his arms around his torso. It was so safe here. He could just sleep right now in a pile of sakura petals. They really were soft and gentle flowers. And with the wind caressing his face, everything was gentle and serene here. And the petals, they were so beautiful.

"I think they're beautiful too."

Hisoka jumped, unaware that a woman had been beside him the entire time. He stared at her. She was even more beautiful up close. Her dark hair was pinned back; her skin was as pale as the moon.

"You're the woman from earlier!" he gasped. Why was she in front of the train? Was she a painter? Is that why she had all of the supplies with her?

The woman smiled and him and spread her arms. "I want you to look around and feel what I feel, see what I see."

Hisoka smiled and closed his eyes, feeling the world around them. She wasn't the cause of this misfortune, she couldn't be.

"Hisoka, open your eyes and look at this world."

Hisoka obeyed, ready to see more of the trees and the grass and the sky. His eyes fluttered open, but instead of beauty, he gasped and was overcome with pain.

"What?" His eyes widened as body after body began falling from the trees. He fell back, his hand slipping on something wet and squishy. His eyes darted down to reveal he had fallen on a man, about Tsuzuki's age, with bright green eyes. They were staring at Hisoka, lifeless and like glass.

Hisoka screamed and scrambled back. The petals that had once been pale pink turned brown and stuck to Hisoka's body, suffocating him. The tree limbs twisted and warped, becoming claws. They reached out to Hisoka, reached out to grab him and entrap him further.

And the bodies that had fallen from the trees had started to push themselves up. Some were missing limbs. Others looked as though they had been run over by a train. The man he had fallen on earlier had his head backwards. Hisoka couldn't scream again. He could only stare in horror. A woman was holding the hand of a small child, both with limbs bent at odd angles.

Finally, Hisoka found his voice. "What is this? What do you want?" Hisoka cried, continuing to back away. He could feel the malicious intent pierce his body. It was lustful for more death. It wanted Hisoka gone.

"We want to help you, Hisoka. We want to help." The woman smiled, but already the skin was beginning to fall off her face, rotting like the corpse she was.

Hisoka was about to ask again. He wanted to leave this place. He wanted to be left alone. But before he could, and unknown force had picked him up and was now carrying him. Hisoka tried to get out of the grips of the force, but his kicking did nothing. He looked back towards the woman and the people, only no one was there now.

"Put me down. You don't have to do this!" Hisoka called. He heard the sound of a train in the distance. The sakura trees were getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Hisoka was flying through the air, the force no longer restraining him. His eyes widened as he felt gravity take action and pull him down.

He landed on the floor of a train with a thump, gasping for air.

oOoOoOo

Tsuzuki ran out of the car to see what happened. He had been on plenty of trains before. But it felt like an earthquake had just passed through. He ran towards an elderly woman on the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling her up.

"Yes, thank you. Do you know what happened?"

Tsuzuki shook his head. "I don't, but I'm sure they'll tell us soon."

The lights flickered back on and stayed on. The intercom clicked on. "Ladies and gentlemen. We are very sorry about that. A small earthquake has just passed through. We contacted local authorities for safety instructions. We'll let you know shortly of any changes."

"Earthquakes. They're the worst," the old woman mumbled. Tsuzuki smiled and helped her back to her car. Once she was comfortable, he went to check on Hisoka. But something was hammering the back of his mind. He was missing something.

"This doesn't seem right," Tsuzuki said to himself. Could it have something to do with the ghost? It didn't seem likely that it caused an earthquake every time it had a victim, but the dead were weird.

Tsuzuki slipped back into his car, hoping to wake Hisoka up. Only, there was no Hisoka. The protection charm lay crumpled on the ground.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki called, looking around the room. No answer. He stepped out of the car and walked to the bathroom. It was vacant. Now Tsuzuki was starting to panic. In Hisoka's state, there was no telling what he might do.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki called again, trying not to run up and down the train. Sadly, there was no one in the hallways for him to ask if they had seen him. Despite Tsuzuki's attempts to remain calm, he began running down the train, peaking in every room to see if Hisoka was there. He almost called on one of his shikigami when he heard a shout.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki sprinted down the car and towards the back. It was just a storage car for food and supplies. But one of the doors was open. Tsuzuki ran towards the open door just in time to see Hisoka plummeting down towards the water. Diving forward, Tsuzuki grabbed ahold of Hisoka's jacket and yanked him back onto the train. The pair landed on the ground with an audible thump, Hisoka wrapped tightly in Tsuzuki's arms. Tsuzuki breathed a sigh of relief as Hisoka's eyes blinked open.

"Tsuzuki? What happened?" Hisoka asked.

Tsuzuki couldn't believe his ears. Hisoka jumped off a train. He was about to commit suicide. Did he not even remember that?

"You jumped off the train! I barely caught you. What were you thinking?" Tsuzuki cried. He hated shouting at Hisoka, but this was getting out of hand. Hisoka pushed away from Tsuzuki and rubbed his head.

"I was walking through a garden of sakura trees. They were in bloom. Then I remember being picked up and then you." Hisoka looked at Tsuzuki. "I think the ghost may have attached itself to me," Hisoka said.

Tsuzuki slumped back against the wall. Why was it always Hisoka these things happened to? Tsuzuki reached up and ran a hand through Hisoka's hair. Hisoka pushed it away and stood up.

"This is good though. If the ghost is trying to kill me, we know so we don't have to worry about getting there too late." Hisoka began walking towards their cabin. "This makes it so that we only have to worry about finding the ghost, and not its next victim."

Tsuzuki leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Was it selfish to wish the ghost had attacked someone else?

"Yes. Now stand up. We have to solve this case," Hisoka said.

"Hisoka, don't act so nonchalant about this. You could have died." Tsuzuki didn't need to have empathy to feel Hisoka's irritation.

"What's done is done. Now we just need to lure the ghost out and then get rid of it."

Tsuzuki sprang to his feet and grabbed Hisoka's arm, stopping him from leaving. "I am not using you as bait."

Hisoka ripped his arm out of Tsuzuki's grip. "I don't need you to treat me like a child. If it were the other way around, you'd say just leave it, you'll survive."

"But it isn't the other way around!" Tsuzuki shouted. "I'm the adult here so let me handle things!"

Hisoka didn't answer this, looking as if the words had been pulled from his mouth. Finally, he spoke. "You aren't my father, we're partners. How am I supposed to trust you if you don't even trust me?" Hisoka snarled before storming off back to the room.

Tsuzuki scrubbed a hand over his face. Hisoka could be so frustrating at times. Why couldn't he just accept Tsuzuki's help and protections? Tsuzuki shook his head and took one last look at the train car. The door was still open, with the wind whipping around in the car. Tsuzuki shut it, blocking out the light. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. But a look around the cabin didn't reveal anyone lurking in the shadows.

He had to find this ghost before Hisoka did something stupid. He would not let his partner be used for anything, no matter the cost.


	5. Chapter 5

Hisoka laid down the case file. There was no connection between the victims. At least, not one that Hisoka could see. His head had started to pound after looking through the fifth case file. He still thought that using him as bait would be the best option for catching this thing and putting it where it belonged. But Tsuzuki was firmly against it. He didn't even have to say anything. Hisoka could feel his thoughts from across the train.

"Did the ghost say anything during your little stroll?" Tsuzuki asked. He was trying not to sound so bitter and upset but their argument still hadn't been resolved.

"No, I'm telling you. I can't remember a lot. I only remember that she looked like she was from the fifties and about my age," Hisoka snapped.

"But there are no deaths from the fifties."

"You don't think I realize that? I don't know what you want me to say, Tsuzuki. I've tried everything and nothing is working." Hisoka stood up and marched to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To find something to eat. I'm starving." Hisoka slammed the door shut.

Tsuzuki flopped down on the bed. At least Hisoka was eating. It always worried him when they were on missions. Hisoka was known for skipping meals in favor of work. He struggled to figure out what the connection was. But he just couldn't see it. And the fact that the woman Hisoka saw was dressed like she was from the fifties was even stranger. Unless, maybe the ghost wasn't a suicide victim, but a murder victim. The original murder victim. Which meant they were looking in the wrong place. Tsuzuki sent an email to Tatsumi, asking for some other murders that may have taken place at around this same time. He was going to figure out who this ghost was and what it wanted before it got Hisoka.

oOoOoOo

Hisoka stomped down the length of the hallway. It wasn't really Tsuzuki's fault. But he was feeling stressed and it was starting to break through Hisoka's shields. The best thing to do was to get some space and clear his head. Tsuzuki was right, though, the first victim was from the sixties and was a man from Russia here on business. So if anything he should be the ghost. And springtime didn't seem to play any part in it, even though he kept seeing the woman with sakura blossoms.

"It's always sakura blossoms," Hisoka muttered, grabbing some food from the car.

"What was that?"

Hisoka turned to see a man sitting at the table. He had a sketchpad open. Hisoka could see that it was a portrait. He couldn't tell of who though.

"Nothing," Hisoka grumbled, turning to walk away. He heard a snap of a book and the scrape of a chair. Hisoka began walking faster, he didn't feel like talking with strangers. And something about this man was off. His skin was crawling the closer the man got to him.

"I want to talk to you," the man said. He wrapped his fingers around Hisoka's wrist

Hisoka's body went slack; the food he gathered fell to the floor. Hisoka swayed, trying to keep himself upright.

"You know, you have such beautiful features. I was wondering if I could draw them?" the man said.

Hisoka felt his eyes slip close. He shook his head. "No. I need to get back to the car," Hisoka mumbled. That familiar song began floating through the air.

" _Sakura. Sakura. Noyama mo sato mo."_

Hisoka pulled at the man's hand. "I really need to go." He opened his eyes to see the woman standing among the sakura trees, the blossoms swirling around her. Her arms were outstretched towards Hisoka, beckoning him to come. The man's grip tightened.

Hisoka tried to pull away once more. "Tsuzuki will be wondering where I am. I need to go," Hisoka protested weakly. The woman's face began to decompose; her clothes ripped and became covered with blood. And water began to soak everything, making her makeup run and her hair become undone.

"Tsuzuki does have beautiful eyes. Maybe I should paint him next," the man said.

"Tsuzuki," Hisoka gasped. He dug his heals into the soft dirt. Wait, dirt? No, he was on a train. There should be no dirt. He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down. The child, his face covered in blood, was pulling his hand. The mother sat next to him, staring at Hisoka with cloudy eyes.

"Tsuzuki!" Hisoka cried, this time louder. He ripped his arms from the man and the child and stumbled backwards, right into the arms of Tsuzuki.

oOoOoOo

Tsuzuki wasn't called for help often, especially by Hisoka. Hisoka liked to keep his distance and do everything by himself. So when he heard Hisoka calling his name, he knew something was up. He dropped what he was doing and went running towards his partner. He should have never left Hisoka alone.

His skidded through the train, searching for Hisoka. He found him, stumbling back along the car, no one else in sight. Tsuzuki lurched forward to catch Hisoka as he tumbled to the ground.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki couldn't help but feel worried as the kid fell back against him. Ever since they had stepped foot on this train it had been one disaster after another.

Hisoka gasped, sucking in air as if he had been strangled. Tsuzuki peered down at his neck. It didn't appear he was hurt.

"There was a man. Where is he?" Hisoka continue to gasp for air.

Tsuzuki whipped his head around, searching for any sign they weren't alone. There was no one there.

Tsuzuki wasted no time scooping Hisoka up and carrying him back to their room, not caring who saw them. Hisoka didn't seem to care too much. Or he was too scared to even complain. Tsuzuki didn't like that.

"Can you tell me something about this man? Tsuzuki asked, slipping into their room and placing Hisoka down.

"He was an artist, I think. He was sketching in a book and kept saying something about eyes. And he said you had beautiful eyes." Hisoka took a gulp of water and ran the glass over his forehead, trying to get rid of the perpetual headache he seemed to have.

"Are you hurt? You're not hurt are you?" Tsuzuki kneeled in front of Hisoka, patting his arms, checking for injuries. Hisoka didn't miss how hard Tsuzuki's eyes were.

"I'm fine. Just shaken up. And why don't you tell me how you know this man?" Hisoka demanded. He crossed his arms and fixed a glare at Tsuzuki.

Tsuzuki just smiled and shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Hisoka rolled his eyes. "It doesn't take an empath to know what you're thinking. Who is he?" Hisoka demanded.

"I don't know." Tsuzuki's shoulders slumped and he stared at the window. It was beautiful outside, pretty as a picture. He wondered if the artist and the woman Hisoka kept seeing had anything in common.

"I think he works for her." Hisoka pulled Tsuzuki from his thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

"He was taking me to her. She appeared and was pulling me towards her. He might be one of her victims, or even just someone who wants to help a ghost. I don't know for sure." Hisoka leaned back and closed his eyes. He was so tired. He felt like he could just collapse and go to sleep. Why was everything always so complicated? And why was it so hard to keep his eyes open? He jumped as a hand began stroking back his hair.

"Why don't you stay here, Hisoka? You need your rest. I can go up to the front and ask about the artist. Don't leave under any circumstance," Tsuzuki said.

Hisoka nodded and fell back on the bed. He was ready for this case to be over and done with. At lease Muraki didn't seem to be involved in this one at all.

Tsuzuki's watch was reflecting the lights right into Hisoka's eyes, making his headache worse.

"Tsuzuki?"

"Yeah, Hisoka?"

"Why do you wear your watch on the wrong hand?" Hisoka's voice was getting thick with sleep. It was something that had always bothered him but he had never felt brave enough to ask about it.

Tsuzuki leaned over and smoothed to covers down. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

Hisoka shook his head. "You worry about it though. Why don't you trust me?" Hisoka's eyes finally slipped closed, no longer able to chase away sleep.

Tsuzuki felt a pang of sadness pierce his heart. He leaned over and kissed Hisoka's forehead. "I do trust you. I just don't want you to have to worry about my problems," he whispered, hoping that Hisoka couldn't hear him. Maybe Tsuzuki should tell Hisoka about his death. But then, how would Hisoka react? Would he try and take on Tsuzuki's burden? Would he ignore it and tell Tsuzuki to leave it in the past? Tsuzuki didn't want Hisoka to know because Hisoka didn't need to know. Tsuzuki could handle this by himself.

Tsuzuki stood up once he was sure Hisoka was asleep and slipped out of the car. He made sure to lock it, with a lock and with several spells. There was no way some evil ghost and her lackey were going to get to Hisoka. It worried him just how tired Hisoka was. It was almost like there was something boring into his mind, not giving him a moments rest. He knew Hisoka was probably hating every minute of this case. He was a target of something powerful. What's worse was that Tsuzuki couldn't see what Hisoka was seeing. The ghost was attacking Hisoka in his mind. And no amount of magic or power would allow Tsuzuki access into Hisoka's innermost thoughts. But he could still investigate and try and protect Hisoka from the dangers here.

Tsuzuki kept an eye out for the artist. If he saw the man before he got to the ticket holder, there was going to be a confrontation, consequences be damned. Tsuzuki was not losing Hisoka to anyone.

Sadly, there was no artist. Thomas Rose, that was his name. God, it even sounded disgustingly sweet. So Tsuzuki was forced to ask the ticket holder what he knew about this person.

The ticket holder had a crossword out. He was mindlessly scribbling in some letters, occasionally sighing and looking as though he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Um, excuse me," Tsuzuki said.

The ticket holder sighed and put down the crossword. "Yes? What can I help you with, sir?" The words came out kind of bitter. Apparently being a ticket holder on a train was not a great job.

"There was a passenger on this train that attacked my," Tsuzuki paused. How would he describe Hisoka? "Younger brother?" Sure, that sounded good.

The ticket holder sat up, looking considerably more disturbed. "I'm so sorry, what was the man's name?"

"Thomas Rose. We had had problems with him before. But I just brushed it off as an old man being, well, old. However he attacked Hisoka and I want to know what can be done to keep this man away from us," Tsuzuki was getting somewhere now.

The ticket holder ran a finger through the registry, his face changing from one of worry to one of annoyance. "Sir, joking about assault to a minor isn't funny." He sat back and flipped back open the crossword puzzle.

"What do you mean? I'm not joking!"

"Well then there's nothing I can do because the name Thomas Rose isn't anywhere on our roster."


	6. Chapter 6

Hisoka tossed and turned in the bed. He had almost been killed three times now. He didn't really want to test his immortality by continually jumping off of and in front of trains. But there was also something so troublesome about this ghost and her helper. Was this man the reason she was killing people? Was she the reason this man was on the train? Were they both dead? Where neither of them dead and just really good at magic?

Hisoka shook his head and flopped over to his other side. He kind of wanted Tsuzuki to be back here with him. He didn't like the thought of being here alone, especially when he was so strongly affected by these creatures.

Flopping onto his back, Hisoka traced patterns in the ceiling with his eyes. He wished Tsuzuki would get back here already. Every minute spent in this train was making him feel more uneasy. He just wanted to turn tail and run, get as far away from this haunted place as possible.

Hisoka closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. He knew it was risky. But when he was asleep, he could feel better. He was more open to the emotions that surrounded him. His eyes stayed closed as he allowed the emotions of the train to surround him.

The past, present, and future swirled around him, allowing him to feel every heartbreak, every ounce of happiness, every speck of hope that had ever happened in this train.

Then, he heard that song. The song that had caused him to almost kill himself so many times. Hisoka's eyes opened. Above him was a blue sky. Beneath him were rolling green hills. Hisoka inhaled, allowing the fresh country air to wash over him.

Hisoka sat up and pushed himself to his knees. It was time to have a talk with this ghost.

He knew he should wait for Tsuzuki. He knew it was dangerous to leave without one person ensuring he didn't fling himself off the train. But Hisoka felt warm. It was the kind of warmth that surrounded you and promised you safety and comfort. It promised you protection from pain and fear. It was a selfless warmth that reminded him so much of Tsuzuki. Hisoka allowed his feet to carry himself over the hills, through the sakura grove. The grass felt so real between his toes.

"That's because it is real."

Hisoka whipped his head, trying to find the voice.

"Well, it was real a very long time ago. Now I'm not so sure these hills and trees are still there."

Hisoka continued to stumble through the grove. It sounded like the voice was right next to him. But there was nothing. Hisoka felt his back hit something hard and metal. He let out a gasp as the vision was ripped away from him, revealing his true location.

He was at the very front of the train. The door was wide open, letting the wind force itself inside, whipping around Hisoka. Where was the conductor? There was no one there. Only a bit of blood and—

"You!"

oOoOoOo

Tsuzuki didn't bother apologizing to the woman he smashed into. The artist didn't exist, according to the roster. But he was after Hisoka. Tsuzuki had seen him He had touched him. And Hisoka had seen and touched him as well.

"Hey!" The ticket master had called after him. But Tsuzuki couldn't be bothered with explaining himself to this man. He needed to get to Hisoka, now. He wouldn't allow Hisoka to become another victim.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki cried, slamming the door open with enough force to shatter the glass. His heart dropped into his stomach upon seeing Hisoka wasn't in the room. Tsuzuki's eyes darted around nervously. The blankets on the bed were crumpled. Hisoka always made his bed, even if they were staying in a hotel. Hisoka didn't leave here willingly. Tsuzuki's breathing became more erratic. He would have to bring the corpse of his partner back. He would have to live with the knowledge that he couldn't save another person. He couldn't save someone he loved more than anything else in this world.

Tsuzuki collapsed to his knees. The glass was digging in, causing blood to seep out. It was just like Ruka. This was just like his sister.

A giggling child snapped Tsuzuki out of his daze. There should be no children giggling now. Most of the people who were around here cleared out when Tsuzuki broke the door. Tsuzuki looked up to see a small child sitting with a large grin on his face.

"Hey, wait!" Tsuzuki called as the child took off down the car. Tsuzuki scrambled to his feet and chased after him. Hisoka mentioned a child.

oOoOoOo

"Where's the conductor?" Hisoka asked, staring at the woman. She was still wearing the same checkered dress and still had the same hairstyle Hisoka had seen her with before. The woman looked down at her paintbrushes before pulling one out and streaking down the canvas.

"The current one is alive, just unconscious."

"The current one?"

"Yes. I'm sorry about before. I never meant to scare you. I was just hoping you would be able to figure it out before Rose got to you. I knew from the moment you stepped on the platform that you would be the next victim. I tried so hard to warn you. But Thomas was always rather persistent."

Hisoka stopped and stared at the woman. "What do you mean by protect me?"

The woman smiled sadly at him. "It's a long story. Back before this train was built."

Hisoka crossed his arms and glared at her. "We have time. You might want to start talking if you don't want to be dragged to hell."

The woman smiled at him, not feeling intimidated by these threats. "I fell in love with Thomas. We were both artists. I loved landscaping while he loved portraits. He was always very interested in the eyes. 'The eyes are the window to the soul' he would say. 'The more beautiful the eyes, the more beautiful the soul'. Those days were wonderful. But then, as relationships often do, we grew apart. I no longer loved him. He refused to listen. He began stalking me, terrorizing me, destroying my paintings. He even burned down a gallery I was supposed to show in. Finally, I felt free. Thomas was forced to go back to England and I had met another man. He was the first conductor of this train. We were all set to move to Tokyo and start our new life. But Thomas managed to get back and discover where we were. He snuck onto the train. And," the woman's voice choked.

"And he killed my fiancé. I discovered his broken body torn to shreds in this very car. But Thomas wasn't done yet. He kept saying how it was all a lie. Beautiful eyes didn't mean a beautiful soul. It meant a soul full of selfishness and hate. He told me that as he pushed me out of the train and into the water below. I don't think they ever found my body. This train was decommissioned after that. It was transformed into a cargo train. But then some buyer who didn't know about the murders bought it and refurbished it. Thomas came back. He would find someone with beautiful eyes and kill them. I kept trying to warn people, but it never worked. He once killed a mother and child! I didn't know anyone could be so evil." The woman began weeping heavily.

Hisoka looked around. He wasn't very good at comforting people. Finally, he decided to do what Tsuzuki always did, hug the woman. He shuffled forward and wrapped his arms around her.

She continued to wail. "I know it is not my place, but surely there must be something you can do to stop him! Thomas has killed to many people and I don't want to watch there be another victim!"

Hisoka thought about what could be done. If Rose really was still alive, then there was little he could do. His job was to bring the dead to trial and maybe figure out if there was any reason people were dying before they were supposed to. And Hisoka didn't know if there was enough evidence for the actual police to get involved. Still, this was what he was sent here to do.

"I'll try my best," he answered truthfully.

The woman looked up at him and smiled. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a very familiar voice.

"You always did talk to much, Manami," Rose said, stepping into the cabin. Hisoka let go of the woman and stood up, ready to defend her.

"It's over, Rose. I know everything." Tsuzuki wasn't here. But Hisoka was just fighting a harmless old man. Well, not exactly harmless, but still old.

Rose threw back his head and laughed. "Don't underestimate me, boy. I saw you. I know what you people are like. You spend your days being selfless and sacrificing when really you're just selfish brats who only want something for themselves, never for anyone else."

Hisoka noticed the man's fingernails growing and blackening, turning into sharp claws. "What do you mean?" Tsuzuki no doubt knew Hisoka was missing and was probably looking for him. Hisoka just had to keep Rose occupied long enough for help to arrive.

Rose began twitching, his pupils becoming slits and his skin peeling like a lizard in the midst of shedding. Manami gasped behind Hisoka.

"What have you become?" she asked, horrified at the vision before them. Rose threw back his head and shrieked. The sound pierced Hisoka's ears and he threw himself over Manami to protect her as the glass from the windows exploded. Hisoka gasped as the glass pierced his body, the blood starting to stain the floor. He looked back up to see Rose, except it didn't really look like Rose anymore. His neck had extended, his arms had grown longer so that the claws now scraped the floor. Rose's head shot forward and dug his teeth into Hisoka's arm. He ripped his arm out of the man's mouth, but a good chunk of flesh was now missing.

"The lives, taking all those lives! It gave me power. I am invincible!" Rose shrieked again. Hisoka pulled out a fuda and began chanting, just like Tsuzuki had taught him. Rose wasn't human anymore, so he could actually hurt him. But Rose wasn't getting hurt. He rammed his head into Hisoka's stomach, smashing him against the control panel. Manami shrieked as Rose shot forward and began slashing at Hisoka with his claws.

"Thomas, please stop this!" Manami cried.

But Rose continued to laugh. Finally Hisoka managed to duck away from the man, skittering to the other end of the train. Where was Tsuzuki? Perhaps this place was in a different plane of existence, so Tsuzuki couldn't get to them. Hisoka felt himself get pulled to the ground, slamming into the metal. He focused his empathy and burned Rose's hand, just like he had done with Tsuzuki when they had first met. The monster quickly let go, flailing and shrieking around the cabin.

He charged at Hisoka once more, only this time, there was a group of people in front of him. Hisoka gasped as he recognized the faces. They were all of Rose's victims. And they were surrounding Rose, dragging him out of the open door. Rose continued to shriek and wail as the spirits all worked to pull him out of this world. The door burst open, revealing Tsuzuki. But Hisoka wasn't worried about that now. He was worried about the blood loss and concussion he had.

"Baka Tsuzuki, you're late," Hisoka muttered before blacking out.

oOoOoOo

Tsuzuki continued to race through the car. He prayed he wasn't too late. He didn't want to know if falling out of a train could kill Hisoka. Finally, he got to the front. The conductor was slumped outside. He wasn't dead, thank God. Tsuzuki tried pulling the door open, only to find it appeared to be welded shut.

There was a lot of commotion inside. A lot of yelling and screaming and crashing. Hisoka was in there. Tsuzuki needed to get in there too. He rammed his shoulder into the door, trying to get it to break free. Finally, after successfully shattering his collar bone, Tsuzuki managed to get the door opened.

It burst open revealing Hisoka. He was on the ground covered in blood as a large monster loomed over him. Before Tsuzuki could attack, though, a rush of energy cam over the room and the past victims of Rose and the woman had swarmed around Hisoka, grabbing onto the monster and pulling him out of the train and out of this world.

Tsuzuki ran to Hisoka's side just in time to see him faint. Tsuzuki noticed the woman still sitting on the ground.

"You will be punished for your crimes," Tsuzuki growled, pulling Hisoka close to him with his good arm.

"I swear I wasn't behind this. Thomas was. I was trying to protect Hisoka." She was crying, looking rather pathetic. Tsuzuki didn't believe those tears.

"Tsuzuki, she's telling the truth." Hisoka had woken up and was pushing Tsuzuki back, trying to sit up on his own. Tsuzuki still kept his good arm around Hisoka's waist, ready to catch him should he need to.

"Manami was Rose's first victim. Well, her and her fiancé. Rose has been using the victims to strengthen his own power. He probably transformed into the monster and scared people into accidently jumping off the train. Manami has been trying to help and warn the people. But it looks like this is the first time it's actually worked."

"Why?"

"Because of my empathy. I was able to reach another level with these spirits and was able to give them all the strength needed to defeat Rose." Hisoka slumped against Tsuzuki. "Your arm's hurt."

Tsuzuki smiled and held Hisoka tighter. "It will heal." He turned towards the woman. "I'm sorry for blaming you."

Manami shook her head. "I'm sorry. I really should have done more, or less. I think Rose figured out how to use my warnings as part of his plan." She lowered her head into her hands and began to cry. Tsuzuki's arm healed enough for him to reach out and take Manami's hand.

"It's really okay. There's only so much you can do. You can go now. You can rest."

Manami looked up and smiled, wiping her tears away. She stood up. "Hisoka?"

Hisoka turned towards her and Manami pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Tsuzuki burst out laughing at the shade of red Hisoka had turned.

"Thank you for helping me," Manami whispered before fading away. Tsuzuki continued to laugh.

"It's not funny!" Hisoka cried, still blushing furiously. Tsuzuki loved it when Hisoka looked like an angry kitten. It made him even more adorable. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not adorable?"

"Hisoka, was that your first kiss?" Tsuzuki asked in between his laughter.

"No! I've kissed lots of girls before," Hisoka stuttered.

Tsuzuki's arm finally healed and he scooped Hisoka up, teleporting them back to the underworld.

"What have I said about carrying me?" Hisoka cried. Tsuzuki shook his head and pecked Hisoka's forehead.

"But you're so cute. And also injured. I'm just taking you to Watari. Oh, wait until I tell Wakaba about your first kiss! She'll be so excited. I should tell Saya and Yuma as well."

"Don't you dare tell them! Don't you dare tell anyone! And it wasn't my first kiss!" Hisoka continued to turn redder with each word until he was roughly the same shade as a red delicious apple. Tsuzuki wanted apple pie now. He deserved it.

"You don't deserve apple pie and put me down!"

Tsuzuki smiled. There were worse things that could happen to them. He was just glad that Hisoka was safe with him and not haunted by anything horrible.

Hisoka, for his part, was glad that Tsuzuki was acting like this. When he had burst in, there was such a feeling of pain and loss that it overwhelmed Hisoka. But now Tsuzuki seemed to at least partially let go some of his past and begin to move forward. It made Hisoka happy that he was able to help his partner like this, even if it was only a little bit.


End file.
